The Beast Within
by Zarthor563
Summary: Sequel to The Enchanted Mirror. Justin is plagued by nightmares, and finds that he has inherited a terrible curse. He and Alex race to find a cure. But nothing is as it seems,and they must hurry before Justin's hunter finds them, or the curse becomes permanent...
1. Running

**A/N: Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't post this until I finished _Archangel_, but I finished the trailer for it the other day and I was thinking, since you don't actually have to read _Archangel_ (though I would love it if you did) for this story to make sense. So here it is.**

**Link for trailers is on my profile. Please Review.**

* * *

Gasping and struggling to keep his breath, Justin Russo ran. He did not have to look back to know that the beast was still chasing him; he could make out the distinct _patter_ of its feet, the crunching of dirt beneath heel.

The trees surrounding Justin bore spell forms engraved in Latin, Aramaic, and Babylonian. Though how he knew that, Justin had no idea.

There was a loud crack, and one of the trees fell forward, blocking his path.

Justin didn't hesitate. On the contrary, he kept running. He kicked up off the ground at the perfect moment, vaulting over the fallen tree. He dove into a roll as he landed, enabling him to keep running as he came back up.

_What the! Why couldn't I pull that off when I tried out for the track team!_

Justin shook his head.

_Focus! I need to find Alex and get out of here, wherever** here**__ is._

The path split before him into to dirt roads, one veering to the left, the other to the right.

He went right.

As he ran, Justin could hear the growls of the thing that hunted him, and the wind itself seemed to whisper, "_Thiess, Thiess."_

Justin stopped running as the path came to an abrupt end, and was shocked to discover that he was standing on the edge of a great cliff. And on the other side…was the fantasy world he and Alex shared, along with Princess Russo herself.

"Justin, hurry!" she exclaimed, pointing off to one side.

Justin followed her finger and saw a great bridge of stone, connecting his side of the cliff to hers.

He made a break for it…just as the beast landed on his back. Justin and the beast struggled, each grappling with the other.

At last, Justin came face to face with a muzzle, and two sapphire eyes.

_It's a wolf,_ Justin thought in surprise as he kicked it off himself. The wolf spun in the air before landing on its feet.

"Justin!" Alex screamed again, the fear and worry evident in her voice.

Justin reached for his back pocket, felt for his wand…only to realize that it was not there.

There was a most gruesome sound, like that of a banshee's keening death screech, and Justin realized with a shock that it was _laughter_.

_The wolf was laughing._

Justin watched in horror as its shape began to shift and transform. It grew in size, shooting upwards as though it were a sapling sprouting from the earth.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

The hind legs grew longer as the forelegs grew shorter, paws receding into furred, clawed hands.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

Now fully upright and in its humanoid form, the wolf smiled.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

The wolf extended its right hand, and Justin was shocked to see it holding his wand.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

It snapped the wand in half, and continued snapping it until it fit in its enclosed fist. It did nothing more for a second or two…until it opened its first ever so slightly and let the splintered ashes fall to the ground. Ever. So. Slowly.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

The wolf smiled again. Then it lunged.

"Justin!"

Justin woke from his nightmare with a yell. His bed sheets were strewn about the floor, and he was covered in sweat. It was the third night in a row that Justin had had that dream, and he still had no idea what it meant.

A few doors down, Alex Russo had a similar awakening. Though they were rooms apart, their minds shared the same, singular thought: _What the hell?_


	2. Broken

****

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* * *

**Though he would never admit it, especially to her, Alex knew Justin was scared, that the dreams terrified him; ever since they began, his thoughts had been tinged with despair and anguish, which forced her mind to recoil whenever they got close.

Their mind link had evolved from its earlier days, when Alex and Justin both had to be asleep for their minds to connect. Now they were linked in the waking world as well; each was a constant presence in the other's mind.

It annoyed Alex at first, simply because she had no idea how anyone could possibly _think_ that much in one day, let alone an hour. And now her mind was opened completely to her brother, to the man she loved, without any reservations whatsoever, whereas before, Justin could only see what Alex let him see.

Which was everything, of course. It was the _principle_ of the thing that mattered. It had been a choice before, a great trust, and it wasn't anymore.

They could feel each other's emotions; the other's joys, sorrows, pains: there were no secrets between them now. They could find each other always, no matter how far away they were.

And that was what made Alex love their mind link as well as be annoyed by it at times: It made her and Justin one, truly one, in the only way that mattered.

Which was why Justin didn't have to say he was scared. He would never need to say it, because he _felt_ it. And because he felt it, she did too.

And though she desperately wanted to, Alex had no idea how to help him.

* * *

Justin was on his laptop, researching. There were many constants in his nightmare, and one of them was that eerie chant: "Thiess, Thiess."

He knew he'd heard the word mentioned before. Or maybe he'd read it. The point is, that he'd recognized it.

And he desperately needed something he could understand, something he could analyze.

Something stable.

But his discoveries only sent him further down into the abyss.

Typing "Thiess" into the search engine, he found sites linking to _Lycanthropos, El Hombre Lobo, Loup-garou._

_Werewolves,_ Justin thought, his heart pounding furiously. It reminded him of the time that he'd dated a werewolf, briefly. He'd almost turned into one forever. If it hadn't been for Alex...

But why would he be dreaming about werewolves?

He clicked one of the links, and began to read.

_In 1692, Thiess was charged with making a pact with the Devil, in exchange for the ability to transform himself into a great wolf. He was tried, and Thiess denied this charge, claiming instead to be a 'Hound of God,' who went down into the straits of Hell to battle against demons, and the Devil himself._

Justin remembered now. He'd heard the name in his world history class, where one of his fellow classmates had written a paper on wolf myths, and tried to separate fact from superstition. It had been a splendid paper, shedding light on many diseases which may caused people to be mistaken for werewolves.

It was a chilling thought: people had been burned and beheaded and charged as satanists...because they were born with a disease.

Thiess was not sentenced to death, Justin recalled. He was charged with idolatry and lashed. _Then_ he died. Whippings aren't exactly beneficial to an eighty year-old's health.

Justin sighed. He may now know what the name meant, but it still left the most important question unanswered: _why was he having this dream?_

* * *

He increased speed as the wolf came closer.

The wind howled, _"Thiess, Thiess."_

He turned right as the path divided. He vaulted over the fallen tree without hesitation, this time landing upright.

He came back to the cliff. Princess Russo was on the other side, urging him to hurry.

He didn't waste time. He ran. He ran so fast it was as though his feet never touched the ground. There was no fear this time, only the awareness of a purpose, and a grim determination.

His feral eyes alighted with victory as he stepped onto the bridge.

The princess seemed agitated about something. He cocked head to the side, confused. She seemed to disappear from sight at times, only to return... and disappear again.

Then he felt it, the chill that made the hairs on his neck stand up.

He turned, growling softly, to see the wolf standing on the cliff, sitting on its haunches, staring at him.

He growled louder, taunting, challenging, daring the wolf to step onto the bridge.

It did nothing, and the voice began again.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

The bridge began to shake; pieces of it began to break apart and fall. He ran, the bridge breaking apart where he stepped.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

The bridge broke completely; great chunks of stone rained down onto the ravine below...and he fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell.

"_Thiess, Thiess."_

"_Justin!"_ came the scream from above.

The wolf stared for a moment or two more, then began to howl.

Alex woke with a start, her heart pounding furiously, threatening to break out of her body.

"That's never happened before..." she said softly to herself.

She searched for Justin in her mind, probed for his presence.

He wasn't there.

So she got out of bed and quickly (but quietly) made her way to his room.

He wasn't there.


	3. Visited

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* * *

Alex knew she had to find Justin, but she didn't know where to look anymore. Their mind link was gone, so she had to search for him the old-fashioned way. She'd gone to every library in the tri-state area. She looked in every comic book shop she could think of. She'd even gone to his stupid Alien Language League Clubhouse.

And with every failure, Alex's fear seemed to be confirmed: his disappearance wasn't some lame attempt at revenge for her last prank, it had something to do with those strange dreams he'd been having.

Alex had no idea where her brother was, no idea how to find the man she loved...and she'd never felt so helpless, so alone.

Who could she turn to for help? Their parents? _That_ conversation would lead to places she couldn't go, and their mother had been suspicious for years now, not willing to accept their new closeness at face value, as Jerry had. Max? He was off in God-knows-where, doing whatever the hell angels did these days.

There was no one she could turn to.

But that wasn't the only thing that drove Alex crazy. It was not being able to sense Justin anymore, the gaping hole his absence left in her mind...and her heart. It was the feeling of being broken.

Alex Russo doesn't do broken.

* * *

_Alex._

She jumped at the sudden voice in her head. It sounded familiar...

_Alex, get to Justin's room. _**_Now_**_, please._

She raced to Justin's room, and found him lying in his bed. His clothes were in rags, there were bags under his blood-shot eyes, and he seemed pale.

But to Alex, he'd never looked more beautiful. She raced to his side and hugged him tightly.

"Alex," he said through a gasp of breath. "Can't...breathe!"

She let go of him then, and slapped him.

"That's not _all_ you won't be able to do," Alex said threateningly. "Where the hell have you been!"

"I don't know," Justin replied. "I keep getting these weird flashes...he probably has a better explanation than I do."

"He?"

That was when someone cleared their throat, just behind Alex. She whirled around wand in hand...and stopped short.

"Hi," Max said.

"Max?" Alex asked surprised. "Is that really you?"

"In the flesh," he replied. "Technically. You can put this away now." He handed Alex her wand back.

"How the he-"

"Watch it, sis," Max said with a smile. "That's not a word you should throw around lightly." He cocked his head slightly. "Since when do you swear?"

"Max," Justin said from his bed. "I'm glad you found me, and I'm glad we're having this little reunion, but could you _please_ tell me what's going on?"

"Right. Dreams,wolves, all that jazz."

"How do you know about the dreams?" Alex asked.

"Angel, remember? Plus, I like to keep an eye on you guys."

Max cleared his throat again.

"So I did some digging, and as it turns out...we're descended from wolves."

"Come again?" Justin said.

"It's true. We have wolf blood in us, from mom's side; the line goes back centuries, all the way to Thiess."

Justin's hands were shaking, Alex steadied them with her own.

"So last night..."

Max nodded. "You transformed. Which is pretty weird, considering."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"Thiess was a special class of werewolf, what some European cultures called a skinwalker: he could transform at will. So for you to transform in your sleep is, well, weird."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"No, but you owe Harper a new dress." Max thought for a moment, then asked. "How long have you been having the dreams?"

"About a week now."

"Huh. They should have stopped by now."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, still gripping Justin's hands.

"Skinwalkers are special," Max said. The reason the transformation is voluntary is because the wolf and the man are truly one; they are a melding of souls: no one vies for dominance."

Silence.

"What?" Max asked.

"Nothing," Alex said. "I'm just not used to hearing you use big words...or make sense."

Max rolled his eyes. "I grew up. Hunting does that to you." He looked at Justin. "When the wolf comes to you, what do you do?"

"I run, as fast and as far as I can."

"That's not good. The wolf isn't trying to kill you, he's trying to join with you. And until he does, he'll cut off any connections you have to anyone else, and use them as his own.

"That's why your mind link is gone."

"You knew about that?" Alex asked, surprised.

"I know a lot of things now. But that's not the point. The dreams won't stop until you and the wolf are one, Justin."

"And then what?" Justin demanded. Suppose I do what you say and we join or whatever, then what?"

Max sighed. "Thiess didn't lie, you know, at his trial."

Alex had no idea what that meant, but Justin did.

"You're kidding! You mean that shi-"

Max glared at his brother.

"That _stuff _about being a 'Hound of God' was true?"

"Yes. Godhounds are Heaven's equivalent to hellhounds; the light to the darkness, the balance.

"After you become a godhound, you have a choice: you join the war against Hell, or...you don't. We're not about to force you."

"Why Justin?" Alex asked. "Why not someone else?"

"Like I said, it's in our blood. There are others, though. Some fight with us, others just forget that part of them exists."

"Why aren't I having these dreams?" Alex asked.

"I don't know," Max said. "Maybe the trait skips certain generations, maybe it's only carried by males of the bloodline. Maybe it has to be triggered, I don't know."

"Is there a cure for this?" Justin asked. "Something to take the wolf out of me?"

"Not that I know of. This isn't lycanthropy, Justin: it's not a curse."

"It sure feels like one," he muttered. "How can I make the dreams go away?"

"Simple," Max replied. "Stop running." Then he was gone.

Justin was panicking; Alex could almost hear his heart hammering away.

"Shhh," Alex said softly, lying down next him and nuzzling his neck. "It's going to be okay."

"How?" Justin whispered. "I'm turning into a monster."

"We'll find a cure, something to stop it. And if not, we'll bear it. Together." Alex turned his face so they were looking right at one another. "This doesn't make me love you any less."

Then they kissed. And Justin forgot his fears, his worries, everything. He was content in the knowledge that right now, in this moment, he was everything he needed to be.


	4. God Hound

**Sorry it took so long. Please review.**

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_

* * *

__Justin sat at the cliff face, cross-legged. The bridge was gone, and nothing was visible on the other side; it was all shrouded in mist._

_He waited. And waited. And waited. And waited._

_But the wolf did not come._

* * *

Justin woke up, frustrated. Ever since Max's visit, Justin had been trying to make the wolf come to him. He'd taken his brother's advice; he'd stopped running. For weeks now, every time he fell asleep and was transported to that strange forest in his head, he would sit at the cliff edge and wait for the wolf to come to him, so they could do whatever it was they were supposed to do and he could get his mind back.

But the wolf never came.

And then the mist started. Although unreachable, the fantasy world the elder Russos shared had always been visible, just on the other side. And Justin had always taken comfort in that, in the knowledge that the woman he loved was on the other side, safe from whatever was plaguing him. He couldn't be with her, but at least he could still see and watch over her her, if only from afar. But then mist began to enshroud it, hiding it from view. Now not only was it unreachable, it was also invisible. The wolf had taken the world away...and Alex with it.

It...it _hurt_ him, to have her so close, and yet so far away. He had grown so accustomed to Alex's thoughts and emotions in his mind. At first, it freaked him out, having her inside his head when awake as well as asleep. All his imperfections, his flaws and insecurities laid bare before her. Then he grew annoyed with her constant teasing: her remarks about his 'infatuation' with Captain Jim Bob Sherwood, how he was obsessive-compulsive about his grades, and his beliefs about the impending Robot Revolution.

Justin thought back on all those instances now and found to his surprise how greatly he missed them. He realized now that he found comfort in her constant presence, in the knowledge that no matter how far apart their lives would take them, they would still be together in the most intimate of ways. Alex kept him grounded; she was the force that pulled him back to the real world when he got himself lost in the world of equations and philosophy and advanced magic. He was tied to her in ways he couldn't begin to understand, let alone describe.

But now all he could feel was this..._emptiness_ inside himself. It was as though Alex had claimed a part of his mind for herself when they first touched, and now that her presence was gone, all Justin could feel was pain. Every time he bent his thoughts to where Alex used to reside, he recoiled, feeling as if something important were missing, that something that was _supposed_ to be there was gone.

So even when Alex was physically there, standing near him, holding his hand...he still felt utterly alone.

_What am I supposed to do?_ Justin wondered. _How can I stop this and get Alex back?_

Justin made his way to the kitchen and fixed himself a bowl of cereal. It took him a while to realize that it was a lot _softer_ than it should be. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and saw that his _Frosted Flakes_ had been transformed into gummy bears .

He smiled in spite of himself...until they began to ooze, and the bears in his mouth, having magically acquired gladiator armor and weapons, began to duel and prick the insides of his cheeks with miniature swords and spears.

"ALEX!"

Justin's yell wafted up to Alex's room causing her to break into a smile of her own. She didn't need to be inside Justin's head to know he was feeling down. She might not fully understand what he was going through, but she could still try to make him feel better. What better way to cheer him up than with a prank? He loved them, or at least, was used to them enough to miss them when they stopped. He even admitted it once.

She had the rest of the month outlined.

_

* * *

__Justin was tired of waiting for the wolf to come to him. It wasn't anywhere on his side of the cliff. That meant he would have to go to the other side, into the midst._

_It made sense, in a weird way. Max had said that it was using the mind link as its connection to him. If that was true, then it made sense that the wolf was on the other side of the cliff._

_He just had to get there. In the end, he used a levitation spell, He used one of the stone pieces of the collapsed bridge to carry him to other side. It reminded Justin of the family vacation they had taken a couple of years back. Only in that instance, Alex had been with him, and she wasn't now._

_Which was just more fuel for the fire._

_He made it to the other side._

_The wolf was waiting for him, in its human shape._

"_It's about time," he said, his voice a whisper in the wind, fluid and graceful. "I was beginning to think you would never show."_

"_You were waiting for me?" Justin asked._

"_I have come to you repeatedly, and every time, you would flee at my approach. I thought it best that this time around, I should wait until __**you **__came to __**me**__."_

"_I'm here now."_

"_Are you really? I sense doubt in you; you lack conviction."_

"_I'm confident enough to do this."_

"_I will be the judge of that."_

_The wolf strode forward, and Justin felt himself pulled towards him._

_Their bodies collided, and the wolf seemed to melt into him, __**meld**__ into him. The mist begins to lift and converge around him._

_Justin let out a snarl, not entirely human or beastly, and yet both: a God Hound had been born._

Justin awoke feeling revitalized, strong in ways he hadn't been before. He smiled. He'd done it!

Elated, Justin looked inside himself, prying and searching.

His smile disappeared. He couldn't feel Alex.

The mind link was still broken.


	5. Two Minds, One Heart

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Justin was confused.

After weeks of utter failure, he had finally succeeded in joining with the animal inside him. And he had never felt better. It was like his senses had been kicked into overdrive; his eyes could penetrate the thickest of fogs, he could pick up the scent of his mother's cooking when blocks away from home, and his ears could pick out the _chirp_ and _caw_ of a nest of hungry birds that was miles away. And the nightmares had stopped, too.

But his link to Alex was still broken., and he had no idea why. Justin wanted answers, but no matter how hard he prayed, Max would not come to him.

* * *

Alex was worried. Justin had done what Max had said, but their link was still gone. And not only did that worry Alex, it _scared_ her as well, though she would never admit that to anyone. She and Justin had been connected for years, and now that the connection was broken, it was like Justin was gone. Just _gone_. Like she'd taken a pencil and erased Justin from her inside completely, leaving nothing but his impression behind.

Alex knew that was stupid, especially when she could still see Justin. She could still feel his hand when he held hers, his lips when they kissed, and the strength of his embrace when they hugged. But she couldn't help how she felt: it was as though she'd lost something important, and she knew she would never get it back.

At the moment, Alex was flipping through her magic journal. While it was no longer a portal to the fantasy world, it now had other uses. It now served as window of sorts. The book depicted all their travels and adventures in the fantasy world, like a book of memories. Once the journal's new function was discovered, Justin spelled it so the pages would appear blank if anyone but the two of them tried to read it.

One picture in particular caught Alex's eye.

The princess was sitting at the base of a ruined tower, crying. Justin was there too, holding her, comforting her.

The scene made Alex smile. She realized then that Justin had always her knight, long before he ever wore the armor.

_And long before the mind link..._

Her smile grew.

* * *

Alex crawled in next to her brother. They had been sleeping in the same room since the link had broken, in an attempt to remain close. She felt Justin's muscles relax after pulling her close.

She turned to face him.

"Justin," she began. "You don't have to worry about losing me."

Justin began to say something, but Alex cut him off.

"I know what you've been feeling...because I've been feeling it too. That emptiness inside, like a part of me is missing. I'm telling you not to worry because I realized something today.

"You and I got along fine without the mind link, and we can do it again. We can get through this, survive this."

"How?" Justin whispered.

"The same way a normal couple would," Alex replied, taking Justin's hand. "With two minds...and one heart."

And for the first time in months, Justin dreamed a pleasant dream.

* * *

He knelt before the altar, paying homage to the pentagram inscribed within a circle, two points up, three points down: the emblem of his order, the crest of his master.

_It has happened_, Malakai thought to himself. _A Hound has been born...but the transformation is not complete: the souls have not bonded. Now is the time to strike._

Thunder roared in the distance, as Heaven itself protested.

_Another Russo..._ Malakai thought with disdain. _Power seems to run rampant in that family..._

_...but it matters not._

He unsheathed a gleaming katana and held it before him, as if he were holding out an offering.

_The Hound shall fall by my blade nonetheless._


	6. Away From Here

**Soory it took so long. Please review.**

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* * *

**Weeks pass, and life is normal. Well, normal for Justin, in which case the meaning of the word was _greatly_ expanded. He would wake up, brush his teeth, shower, make breakfast, go to school. Homework, magic lessons, Alien League meetings.

And, of course, the repeated summonings. Images of death and destruction that would form in his mind unbidden, each calling out to him, asking, _demanding_ that he help, that he _act_.

His grades were slipping as a result. Not too much, he was averaging a solid B+. But that was besides the point. How could he focus on his studies, how could he pay attention in class, when at that very moment there was a woman in Milwaukee being dismembered by a demon, and he could hear her screams? Could see as the claws pierced her skin and that _thing_ played with her insides?

It took time, but Justin learned to ignore those images, those "moments." He learned to push them back to the darkest corners of his mind; he chained and bound them where they couldn't be seen.

He knew it was cold. It was wrong, what he was doing, ignoring people he had the power to help.

But he was afraid. He was afraid of what he had done to himself, of the animal he had become.

He still knew so little about himself. Max said the change was voluntary. But the first and only time Justin had transformed had been _in_voluntary. He still didn't know how to actually _do_ it. And say he transformed, how would he change back?

There were too many questions, with too little answers. There was already one champion of the divine in the Russo family; there was no need for another.

That was what Justin told himself, and he adjusted. He just wished he could get the images out of his head. Max had also told him that once the bond was completed, one could choose not to join the fight against Hell, that one could just live.

He was trying, but it was difficult. He wondered how the others of his kind managed any kind of life, while plagued by those images, the calls to battle.

Endure. That was Justin's new normal.

* * *

He never said so, but Alex knew Justin was suffering. His grades had gone down, (They were still infinitely higher than hers, but that was besides the point) and Justin had always been an excellent student, a stickler for achievement. There were also times when he just spaced out; they would be in the middle of a conversation and he would just stop talking, and his eyes would glaze over. It was like he was someplace else, seeing something that was far off.

It made Alex angry.

Joining with the wolf was supposed to turn everything back again, bring Justin back to her. Instead, all it had done was take him further away.

She didn't know of anyway to help Justin. None of the books in the lair had been any help(big surprise there. Books. _Please_). So Alex decided she would do the next best thing: she would take his mind off of whatever it was that was bothering him.

And there was no better way to distract her darling brother than with a well-planned prank...

* * *

Alex entered their bedroom after mussing up her bed for the night (just in case) and walked straight into a bear hug.

"Thank you," Justin whispered as he clung to her tightly.

"You're welcome," she replied, just as softly, hanging on just as tightly.

Then she broke the hug and, smiling, said, "If I knew this would be the reaction I'd get I would've burned your comics a long time ago."

"You did what!"

"You didn't know?" Alex asked, still smiling. "Then what were you thanking me for?"

"The soap. It took hours to get my skin back to the right tone."

"Oh. Then you're welcome for that, too."

"You didn't really-"

"Just check already!"

Justin went to his comics drawer, opened it, and found its contents was indeed burned, the prized collections it held nothing more than blackened paper.

"You're mad, aren't you?"

Justin didn't answer. He just continued to stare.

Alex sighed, and pretended to leave.

"Wait," Justin said as her hand reached for the doorknob. "Stay."

They crawled into bed together, Alex feeling quite proud of herself. His shock at her prank would carry him through the night, she knew. He'd have one more peaceful day. And when he woke up tomorrow, his drawer would cleared out of the garbage and his comics would be put back, after she got them from their hiding place.

As his even, peaceful breathing tickled her, Alex fell asleep, content in knowing that she'd lightened his burden, if only for a little while.

Alex woke to a hurried voice, furiously urging, "Wake up!" The voice didn't belong to Justin. Whoever it was was also shaking her.

"Get.. off!" Alex yelled, pushing the intruder away and waking Justin.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's here!"

Justin grabbed his wand and muttered a spell that lit up the tip, the resulting light revealing...their brother, Max.

"You need to go," he said, deciding not to bother with too many details.

"What's happened?" Alex asked, grabbing her own wand and spelling things into a small travel bag; this wasn't the first time Max had come to bail them out of trouble.

"The birth of a God Hound is a momentous thing," Max said. "For those of us with the ability, it's an easy enough thing to sense the soul-bond."

Max turned to Justin. "Someone very bad sensed your joining; he's on his way here."

"Our parents-"

"I'll take care of them. But you two need to leave, _now_." His tone of voice left no room for argument.

They silently made their way through the house, the fledgling wolf, the wizard, and the angel.

They made it outside, and found their way blocked by a huge brown wolf.

"It's okay," Max said as the elder Russos had begun to point their wands. "He's with me."

"He's a God Hound?" Justin asked, staring in amazement.

Max nodded, then turned to the wolf. "Go," he said. "I'll catch up when I can."

"You're not coming!" Alex exclaimed.

"Someone has to keep the assassin busy while you escape. Don't worry, Fido here is all the protection you need."

The wolf growled, whether it was in agreement or because he hated being called 'Fido," neither of the Russos could tell.

"I'm not worried about _us_," Alex said.

"I'll be fine," Max said. His head jerked up suddenly, and his eyes narrowed. "He's not too far now. You need to go."

"Where are we going?" Justin asked.

"Away from here." Max's head jerked again. "Damn. Go now!" Then he disappeared.

"I _hate_ when he does that," Alex said.

The wolf began to run. After a brief moment of hesitation and a shared look, Alex and Justin followed.

They had no idea how long they ran for, all they knew was that they were exhausted when they stopped.

"We should safe here," a voice said. "Get some rest for now."

Alex and Justin stared in shock.

Where once there was a wolf, there was now Uncle Ernesto.


	7. She Wolf

**No, this is not a crossover fic. Please review.**

* * *

They were moving again. Ernesto never let them stay in one place for long, if he ever did it was never for more than two weeks.

As time passed them by, the elder Russos couldn't help but wonder what had become of their parents. Had the assassin gotten to them? Were they alive somewhere, also hiding? Their minds were plagued by these questions...and there was still no word form Max.

Ernesto stopped suddenly, growling softly. He sniffed the air for a moment, then changed direction, the gravel crunching underneath his paws. The Russos, alarmed, hurriedly searched the surrounding are, wands drawn, eyes trying desperately to penetrate the black of a moonless night. Finding nothing, they hurried to keep pace with their uncle.

Justin's mind was reeling, still recovering from the shock of discovering that his uncle, a man he had known all his life, who had taken him to baseball games and given him rides on his shoulders when he was younger, was a God Hound, a champion of Heaven.

Justin knew he should not have found it surprising; he knew he inherited the trait from his mother's side of the family. And yet, surprised he was.

And angry. And afraid.

He was angry because he was thrust into a situation he didn't understand, given abilities he couldn't control. This God Hound business put his family in danger (thankfully, Harper was visiting with Zeke's family); it set on a killer his heels. On _their_ heels.

He was afraid because he had no idea when he would see his family again. He was afraid because his abilities were still unstable, because his visions had were becoming stronger more vivid; they were slowly stripping him of his sanity.

He needed to find a cure for his affliction, before it damaged him irrevocably.

Justin smiled as he felt Alex squeeze his hand, and squeezed back. Even though their mind link, she always seemed to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

Alex had reacted quite differently when they had discovered Ernesto's secret. She'd taken it all in quite calmly. In fact, she had been the one asking all the questions that first, as they huddled around the fire (Ernesto preferred wooded areas), and their uncle had offered to answer any questions they had.

She listened to Ernesto's answers carefully, holding Justin's hand throughout. Ernesto explained how he had felt Justin merge with the wolf spirit, how he resolved to come to him, to help him in any way he could. He also explained that Theresa knew nothing of her family's heritage, that those who did not possess the ability to change were kept ignorant of its existence, to keep them protected.

Alex listened to everything, filing it away for future reference. At the end of it all, she'd smiled and said, "I knew that crap about cat-sitting for the president of Mexico was a joke."

Justin could only stare and marvel at her.

But he wasn't really surprised; she had always been the stronger one.

* * *

"We're staying at a hotel for the night," Ernesto said, stepping out from an alley where he shifted back to human and dressed. "We're going to meet up with the Winchesters in the morning.

"Max has worked with-"

"We know who they are," Justin said. "We've met."

"Good!" Ernesto said, clapping his hand. "Spares me the agony of introductions."

Silence ensued as they walked.

"There's something that's been bugging me," Justin said after a moment. "Why is this guy after me? What does he want? _Who_ is he?"

"A God Hound's soul is a valuable commodity; in terms of power, only an angel's Grace is more powerful. It can be used for any number of things: curses, invocations, resurrections, you name it.

"Your would-be killer, whoever he is, needs your soul, and that is cause for concern."

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Like I said, God Hound's soul possesses a _lot_ of power. A spell that requires would be equally powerful. Years ago, a sect of occultists attempted to free Lucifer from Hell using a God Hound."

Complete silence.

"Max and I stopped them, and Lucifer was prevented from rising a second time. But he came pretty close."

Ernesto turned to Justin. "That is why it's extremely important that you stay alive. And that is why I am with you. A divided Hound is a dead Hound."

Justin stared at his uncle. "How do you kn-

"I know everything Max knows."

With that, the conversation ends. They enter a hotel and Ernesto checks them in.

"Uh, there are only two beds," Alex said when they entered the room.

"Is that a problem?" Ernesto asked. "I thought you were used to sharing."

The two Russos whirl around, shocked.

Ernesto was already asleep.

_HOURS LATER_

"So how much do you think he knows?"

Justin thought for a moment before answering. "He said he knows everything Max knows, and Max has known about us from the beginning..."

"If he had an issue with the two of you, he would have voiced it already."

"Max!" Alex exclaimed. "Are our parents okay?"

"They're safe," was his reply. Max walked over to Ernesto and woke him up. "We need to move, Malakai is on his way here."

"Malakai?" Ernesto asked, shocked. "We sealed him!"

"Not well enough, apparently."

"We're supposed to meet the Winchesters."

"They're busy. You'll have to make do with me."

Max narrowed his eyes, he seemed to be listening to something.

"He's here."

Justin heard a low growl, and saw that Ernesto had transformed, his hackles rising. And then they were outside, running.

_How the hell..._

Max was running beside him, occasionally glancing backwards.

_Oh._

"Damn," Max said.

"Is that your new favorite word?" Alex asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Max Russo," a voice said. " I should have known you would try to meddle in my affairs."

"Malakai. I wish I could see it's nice to see you again, but that would be a lie."

Malakai was standing on the rooftop of a building not too far off, his katana drawn.

_The other Hound is here as well. That is interesting, but it make little difference._

Malakai jumped, landing gracefully mere feet from his prey.

Ernesto charged, lunging when he was close enough.

Malakai blocked his bite with his blade. He picked Ernesto up by his fur, and slammed him against the concrete. Then again. And again.

The assassin dropped his limp, bleeding form.

"I owed him for last time," he said conversationally.

Max drew his own blade, the runes along its body pulsating softly. "I need you two to run," he said.

"Now."

As the elder Russos fled, Max stepped into Malakai field of view, blocking them from his sight.

"You are only delaying the inevitable, archangel."

"Nothing is inevitable."

They fought then, the angel and the hellspawn. They matched each other, move for move.

As Max feinted to the left, Malakai caught a glimpse of his prey. He and the girl had gotten very far, but it was not a distance he could not cover.

Forgoing his blade, he elbowed Max in the face, causing him to stagger backwards.

Delving into his wrist brace, the assassin procured one of his throwing knives...and let it fly.

_TWHACK!_

Justin staggered, falling to his knees as the dagger embedded itself in his back.

"Justin!" Alex screamed.

As her brother, the man she loved more than anyone else ( though he would never hear her admit that) ay bleeding, dying, Alex felt something change inside of her.

She was angry. Extremely angry. She turned to face their attacker, unaware that her eyes had gone feral.

She ran at him, screaming.

Another one of his knives came at her. She jumped and it missed.

When she came back down, she was on all fours.

Malakai stared at her, the angered God Hound.


	8. Give Me A Reason

**Sorry it took so long. Please Review.**

* * *

When he finally came to, Max had a massive headache. He stood and gave a cursory glance to his surroundings while rubbing his forehead. He saw Ernesto fighting off Malakai, and Justin and Alex were nowhere to be seen. So aside from the headache, things were going well.

Then Max's brain started to work.

_Wait a second... Ernesto's coat is brown, not gray..._

He looked around again, more carefully this time, and spotted his uncle. He was still in wolf form, bloodied and unmoving.

_That's right,_ he thought to himself as the memories came flooding back. _He was beaten unconscious by Malakai. But there is another wolf holding him back. Has Justin finally merged with the wolf spirit, allowing him to transform?_

"Max..." a familiar voice groaned.

The angel turned...to find find Justin lying in a pool of his own blood, a knife sticking out of his back.

Max felt some momentary confusion. If that was Justin, then who was fighting Malakai?

Justin groaned again, snapping Max out of his thoughts.

_Right. Fix first, wonder later._

Max kneeled down next to his brother and pulled out the knife, causing Justin to scream.

As he stared into the gaping wound, Max hesitated. It was not the first time he had healed someone; he had done it countless times, on Ernesto and others. It should have come to him easily.

But something was staying his hand. If he scre- **messed**- up, Justin would spend the rest of his life crippled. Or he would die. For the first time since he absorbed the Grace and became an angel, Max was was worried. Because now, it was close to home.

Now it was personal.

It was the common belief that angels did not feel emotion...but Max knew better.

He would not let the last vestiges of his humanity get in his way. He looked at the knife that was still in his hand, stained with his brother's blood. This was the reason that Justin was helpless, the reason that he was dying. He slowly felt his worry turn to anger. That was good.

Anger was something he could he use.

Max placed his palm over the wound in Justin's back, and closed his eyes. He willed the Grace within himself to flow from him, to pour into Justin, to build and heal. Vertebrae re-calcified, sinew reformed. Soon, all that was left of the wound was a small, linear scar. And that too, would eventually disappear. Max stood then, his anger ebbing and flowing, giving rise to determination. He would make sure that that would never happen to Justin again.

The wolf lunged at Malakai, but he managed to doge its deadly teeth. That time. His robes were ripped, his skin oozing from the places where wolf had laid claim to him.

Malakai felt the _thwunk!_ of the angel's blade as it embedded itself in his shoulder, rendering his left side useless.

Malakai removed it, thrusting it aside as the angelic runes burned his hand.

"Your aim is as good as ever, angel," Malakai crowed. " 'Tis a pity the blow came too late to be of any use."

The wolf whined. Max looked at it. It stared at Justin's prone form, and its ears drooped slightly.

And suddenly, he knew who she was.

"He's fine," Max told her. She stared at him, unbelieving.

"He'll be sore when he wakes up, but other than that, he's as good as new."

She looked at Justin again, then looked back at Max, the question in her eyes clear.

"Go," he told her, I've got things here."

Alex didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Justin groaned as he rolled over onto his back. He'd had the strangest dream. He tried to stand, but doubled over the moment his back straightened.

Something growled. Justin looked to see a huge gray wolf standing in front of him. When had Uncle Ernesto changed color? And where was Alex?

"Hey!" Max yelled as he fought with Malakai. The wolf turned to him."Get him out of here!"

_So it wasn't a dream_, Justin thought to himself. Someone really had come to kill him, and they had run, he, Alex, their uncle, and Max.

Suddenly the memories coming back, at supersonic speeds. He tried frantically to reach his back, feeling for something, the knife, the wound it left behind. But there was nothing there. He looked around, saw the knife on the ground next to him. Someone had to of taken it out of him, and healed him. Probably Max.

But where was Alex! He searched frantically, attempting to stand again and failing miserably. The wolf surged forward this time, tucking its head beneath his arm, holding him up.

"Thank you," he told it. The wolf 's lips seemed to spread across its face, as though it were smiling.

Justin looked around again...and saw Ernesto on the ground.

He realized then that his initial thought had been right; Ernesto's fur was not gray. But he felt no danger in the wolf's company. In fact, he could not have felt safer if he tried.

The wolf was slowly nudging him forward, helping him move. Then it started pushing harder, apparently having lost its patience.

One of those pushes sent him sprawling "Hey!" Justin protested.

His retort was stopped short as the wolf reared its head back and began...well... barking. It took Justin a moment to realize that the wolf was laughing.

_It was laughing at him._ There was only one person he knew that enjoyed seeing him make a complete fool of himself.

He approached the wolf, taking its face into his hands.

"Alex?" he asked.

She nodded, nuzzling into his side.

They both jumped as Max was thrown into a building.

A yell of pain filled the night as Ernesto, healed and fully awake, bit into the assassin's injured shoulder.

"We should go," Justin said, and they began to move, though slowly, because he was still leaning heavily on Alex.

Alex howled suddenly as another of Malakai's knives hit one of her hind legs. She buckled under the pain, and both she and Justin collapsed.

And that was when Justin reached his breaking point. It was one thing for him to suffer because of this curse, but it was another thing entirely for Alex to suffer. He wasn't going to let her die for him.

He felt himself fill with anger. Some was for himself becoming a monster, leading to their current situation. But most of it was for Malakai, the man who hurt the woman he loved.

Justin closed his eyes, trying to find that place inside himself where the beast lived. He didn't know what he had done differently this time. Was it because he was so angry, or because the wolf had been there, at the tip of his consciousness, just waiting to be called out?

For whatever reason, the beast heeded Justin's call.

When Justin opened his eyes, Justin found himself in the fantasy world he and Alex had shared when the mind link was still active. It was still shrouded in mist and fog, but it was not as heavy. It seemed to lift at times, and Justin would catch glances of the castle where Princess Russo had lived with her knight, a remnant of a world gone by.

The wolf stood before him in humanoid form, with its arms crossed. He said nothing.

"I need your help," Justin told him. "I need your strength."

"_Give me a reason,"_ the wolf replied.

"What?"

"_I have called for __**you**__ many times. Each time, you have refused me. So why should I help you? Give me a reason."_

"I need to protect someone I love."

"_This person is important to you?"_

"Yes."

"_More important than the many you have let suffer and die when you refused my summons?" _

"Every life is equally important. I refused you then because I was afraid of you."

"_And are you still afraid, Justin Russo?"_

"I want to protect her more than I fear you."

"_Why?"_

"Because she brings me peace." Justin smiles. "She obliterates that peace as easily as she gives it, but I lover her all the more because of it. She's the reason I wake up with a smile, the reason I can let go and have fun every now and again. She gives me strength; she's the reason I'm here now, in front of you."

The wolf says nothing.

"Without her, there is no Justin Russo. She is the best part of me."

"_Once you have accepted me, there is no going back."_

"What do you mean?"

_Once we have joined completely, the distinction between us will disappear; it will not be __**we**__, only __**I**__."_

"I'm prepared for whatever comes, so long as I have her with me."

"_So be it."_

The wolf produced a book, which Justin recognized as the copy of the magic journal, the one Alex had drawn, so they could make additions to their world while still dreaming.

The wolf opened it to a page filled with archaic inscriptions.

"_Sign your name."_

Using magic to conjure up a pen, Justin signed his name.

"Don't you have to sign your name, too?"

"I already have," said a voice that was too much like his own. Justin looked up from the journal...and saw himself, smiling at himself.

"I told you, once the joining was complete, there would be no distinction, no "us."

The doppelganger began to disappear. "Only I."

The fog lifted, and color returned to the fantasy world.

"Only me," Justin finished, his eyes feral.

* * *

Malakai stared as yet _another_ God Hound stepped forth to challenge him.

_Just how many of them are there?_

He was now facing three God Hounds (Alex was healed by Max) and an archangel, with numerous bleeding wounds and a useless left arm. He did not like those odds.

He was out of throwing knives as well. He lunged at the brown wolf, tossing him into the gray one. He feinted by the angel...and stepped right into the path of the black one.

He tried to sidestep the beast, but managed only to get his right hand caught in its jaws. After a moment of agonizing pain, he sent the God Hound sprawling with a powerful kick.

Malakai ran, hoping to make it to the alley where he had prepared the seal for a teleportation spell. He needed to regain his strength. He had grossly miscalculated; he had not counted on the presence of the angel and his little pet, or the that the girl also possessed the ability to change.

He would not make that mistake again. They would not be so lucky the next time they met.

Justin contemplated chasing Malakai down, then decided against it. He was still new to the change. He wanted to get all the help his uncle could give him before he faced the assassin again. He would be ready next time.

He walked over to his sister and nudged her with his nose.

_Are you okay?_

_Ye- hey!_

Justin smiled. _Our mind link is back._


	9. Choices

**Sorry this took so long. Please review!**

* * *

Three days have passed since the Russos' encounter with Malakai, making it two months to the day since they were forced to run from their home.

Justin, having finally joined completely with his wolf spirit, transformed willfully for the first time. And so did Alex.

Max had been surprised by this; as far as he knew, only the men of their mother's family carried the wolf gene. Alex was the first female wolf in the Larkin blood line since, well, _ever_.

Max smiled as he thought this. _You can always trust Alex to break the mold._

He looked over at her now, as she sat close to the fire Ernesto had built; the man was reluctant to stay at another hotel, he didn't want to make it easy for Malakai to find them again.

So they were camping again.

Alex was leaning against a tree, her eyes trained on their uncle, giving him her undivided attention as he recounted his first meeting with Malakai.

It was so _strange_, watching Alex be so, so..._studious_. Justin was rubbing off on her.

And _that_ led to a slew of other questions. Alex and Justin were both of age. The only reason to postpone the Wizarding Competition was so they could wait for Max.

_But I'm an angel now, and that puts me out of the running. Permanently. Magic runs in the blood. My vessel was born Mortal._

_They can't pass their magic onto me anymore. So when one of them wins (and one will have to), that one would have to give up their magic if they were to stay together._

Max was pulled from these thoughts when Justin asked Ernesto a question.

"Why go to all the trouble of sealing him? Why not just kill him?"

Max noticed, with some confusion as to why, that Justin was not sitting next to Alex. The two were usually inseparable, and he was now sitting away from, on the opposite side of the fire. He filed that away for later.

"Because we don't _know_ how to kill him," Ernesto replied.

"Come again?" This came from Alex.

Max jumped in. "Malakai is what we call a_ meldling,_" he started. "Someone who has joined his soul with another."

"You mean like us?" Alex asked. Justin flinched, but she didn't notice.

"Yes, like you," Max replied. "But with one, crucial difference. You, Justin, and Ernesto are joined with wolf spirits bound in the service of Heaven. It is a symbiotic joining, and harmless to its host.

"Malakai joined his soul with that of a demon."

"Demons have souls?" Justin asked, intrigued despite himself.

"Barely. If they were true souls, the angel blade wouldn't be able to touch them. Because Malakai is part human, my blade cannot kill him, only harm him.

"Unlike your bonds, Malakai's two souls are fighting for space inside of him. His demonic half gives him enormous power, enhanced healing abilities, and scores of other advantages, but at a cost."

"What cost?" Alex asked.

"The more he invokes his power, the stronger the demon inside becomes, until, eventually, it destroys the other half."

"So, Malakai is turning himself into a demon?"

"Yes...and no. What I just explained is the _normal_ way a joining like his works. But Malakai is not normal. His transformation should have happened already, and I should be able to kill him.

"But it hasn't, so I can't. It's almost as if he's found a way to let the two souls co-exist. I don't know what he is now."

Max's head jerked suddenly. The Winchesters needed him.

"Idiots," he said, smiling softly. "They can't do anything by themselves." With that, Max disappeared.

* * *

Alex thought that things were going to be normal again (or at lest somewhat normal) when the mind link returned.

She was wrong.

Justin had been distant these last three days, and she had no idea why. He was blocking his thoughts from her, something he'd never done before.

When she heard his thoughts in her mind, she had been ecstatic. There were connected again, _whole_ again, after months of being torn.

She had been strong for Justin, and part of her enjoyed it. After all, how often was it that_ she_ comforted _him_? That _he _was the one in trouble and_ she_ was the one keeping him protected? Safe?

But Alex would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared too. And that was big, coming from her.

But it hadn't mattered. She could be scared, as long as she had Justin, and he knew he had her. As long as they were together.

But it didn't seem like they were together anymore.

He sat away from her at the fire, and had barely talked at all during Uncle Ernesto and Max's explanations. Didn't he want to know more about the guy who wanted to kill him?

So she was the one who paid attention. Not just for him, but because she was interested too. She had wanted to know more about how her connection to the wolf inside her worked, but neither Max nor Ernesto had gone into that.

When Alex transformed the first time, it had been a fluke, out of anger.

The second time she did it, it was because she wanted to.

Transforming was magic to her. It made her feel powerful, like nothing in the world could stop her. It was exhilarating.

It made her feel free.

She needed to find out what was wrong with Justin. She was tired of this strain between them. And since he wasn't telling her, she would have to do it the old-fashioned way.

Through force.

She barged into their tent and roughly shook him awake.

Before he could form a coherent enough protest, Alex delved into his mind, his walls crumbling against her mental battering ram.

She went back to that night, the last time they had shared thoughts.

"_Are you okay?"_

"_Ye_-_hey!"_

"_Our mind link is back."_

Justin's smile had faded then, as he felt her emotions in that moment. Her feelings of joy, not just because he was safe and because they were whole again, but because she had _enjoyed_ the change. Enjoyed becoming the thing he hated.

He'd given up trying to find a cure. His joining with the spirit made it unbearable, to try and remove a part of himself. He would live with it.

But he didn't like it. It had brought him nothing but trouble.

And she liked it.

Alex came back to reality.

"Alex, what the hell!"

"You listen to me, Justin Russo," Alex told him. "I get that you hate that this happened to you. I get that it tears you up inside. Maybe there's a cure for what we have, maybe there isn't. You shouldn't give up so easily, if being this way hurts you so much.

"You want to cure yourself? Fine. Go ahead and do it. I respect your choice. Please respect mine."

And with that, Alex left the tent.

For the first time in years, Justin and Alex Russo slept completely alone.


End file.
